Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Friday in an angry UN address to block a Palestinian state, accusing European leaders of pushing his country into “national suicide” and rewarding Hamas.
Netanyahu, in a defiant speech he said was partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to “finish the job” against Hamas even as President Donald Trump said he thought he had sealed a deal on a ceasefire.
Days after France, Britain and other Western powers recognized a state of Palestine, Netanyahu said that they had sent “a very clear message that murdering Jews pays off.”
“Israel will not allow you to shove a terrorist state down our throats,” Netanyahu said.
“We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down the hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” he said.
Hamas carried out the worst-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a relentless Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas is a rival of Hamas and condemned the attack as well as antisemitism in his own address Thursday, which he delivered virtually after the United States refused him a visa.
Netanyahu — who has opposed a Palestinian state for decades — mocked Western support for Abbas and called the Palestinian Authority “corrupt to the core.”
But Netanyahu notably did not touch on the issue of annexing the West Bank, which some members of his cabinet have threatened as a way to kill any prospect of a real Palestinian state.
Trump, normally a staunch ally of Netanyahu, has warned against annexation as he pitches a peace plan on Gaza that would include the disarmament of Hamas.
Netanyahu went out of his way to praise Trump, whom he will meet Monday in Washington.
Trump said Friday just after Netanyahu spoke, “I think we have a deal.”
– Protests and circuitous route –
With Netanyahu facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over war crime allegations, including using starvation as a weapon, the Israeli prime minister took an unusual route to New York that included flying over the narrow Strait of Gibraltar.
As he walked up to the General Assembly rostrum, a number of delegations immediately walked out — meaning they had come just to leave, as Netanyahu was the day’s first speaker.
But the room was filled with thunderous applause as Netanyahu again invited supporters to watch from the gallery.
Protesters marched nearby in Times Square calling for the arrest of Netanyahu.
“War criminals don’t deserve any peace of mind. They don’t deserve any sleep,” said Andrea Mirez, a young woman who kept up an overnight noisy protest outside Netanyahu’s hotel.
Netanyahu in his address aggressively challenged allegations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, noting that Israel has repeatedly sent leaflets warning the civilian population to leave.
Humanitarian law also considers forced displacement to be a war crime. Nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced during the war.
The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas killed 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally from Israeli official figures, in the deadliest day in the country’s history.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 65,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
– ‘We have not forgotten you’ –
Netanyahu said that his speech was broadcast in part on loudspeaker in hopes of reaching both Hamas leaders and hostages still held since the October 7, 2023 attack.
“We have not forgotten you — not even for a second. The entire nation is with you, and we will not be silent or let up until we bring you all home, the living and the dead alike,” Netanyahu said, switching briefly to Hebrew.
A number of hostage families have criticized Netanyahu’s renewed military campaign and sought a ceasefire to save their loved ones.
Netanyahu spoke months after he ordered a major bombing campaign of Iran’s nuclear sites.
During his speech he showed a map of the Middle East, taking out a pen to cross out adversaries Israel has killed.
Iran boycotted the speech, displaying pictures on its delegation’s table of some of the more than 1,000 people that Iranian authorities said died in the Israeli bombing.
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